TAK, Thailand — Six people were killed and 17 were injured when a double-decker bus carrying Myanmar factory workers veered off a highway and overturned in Thailand’s Tak province late on Monday night. The crash occurred in Muang district of Tak, which borders Myanmar’s Kayin State.
Of the injured, “about five” were in serious condition, according to first responders.
The accident occurred on Highway 12 (Tak-Mae Sot) at Ban Mae Ta in tambon Mae Thor, near the Myanmar border.
All 52 passengers on the chartered bus operated by Jongjaroen Capital Co. were workers recently arrived from Myanmar. They were heading for a factory in Plaeng Yao district of Chachoengsao province near Bangkok.
The bus smashed into a concrete guardrail on Doi Ruak mountain and overturned into a roadside ditch.
Rescue workers used hydraulic jacks to free the injured from the wreckage. They were taken to Somdejphrajaotaksin Maharaj Hospital in Tak’s Muang district.
Police identified the bus driver as Pisit Tanapakpasit, 40. He was unhurt.
The bus left Mae Sot district on the Myanmar border at about 8.10pm on Monday. It ran off the highway on a steep, winding downhill section at about 10.50pm. The stretch of road is notorious for accidents.
Police quoted the driver as saying he was unable to slow the bus down using the brakes. He tried to use the guardrail to slow down, but to no avail. The bus plunged off the road and into a concrete-lined ditch about five meters off the highway.
The accident happened about 5 km from the spot where another double-decker bus caught fire and killed 20 Myanmar workers at the end of last month.
